Virtual Idol in the Beast World: Five Clans Fight Over Me

Alex opened the file Lanuo had sent.

The file contained several gene sequence comparison charts.

Lanuo hadn’t just compared the gene sequence of the Mimic Mixed Species, but also those of other Mixed Breeds.

Looking at these genetic charts, it seemed Lanuo himself was deeply perplexed.

Alex was carefully reviewing the file and was only halfway through when a call came in from Lanuo. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"I’ve never seen a gene sequence like this. The report you sent is just bizarre."

Alex slowly scrolled down the file. "What’s strange about it?"

Lanuo said, "First, the sex. It’s not male."

Alex’s finger froze.

"And not female either," Lanuo added.

Alex said, "...Stop drawing it out."

Lanuo leaned back in his chair, rubbing his dry eyes. He pulled out some eye drops and squeezed in two drops, then put his glasses back on and held up the printed report. "Normally, this is the most distinct characteristic of a Mimic Mixed Species. But the sex data from this gene test came back as garbled text; it doesn’t show the sexless classification that’s typical for them."

Hearing this, Alex’s gaze fell to the "sex" column on the genetic test reports. It was all garbled text, and each entry was different from the last.

"I can confirm it’s a Mixed Breed," Lanuo said. "That’s the only clear piece of data. But it’s not a Dwarf hybrid, and certainly not any other kind of Mixed Breed we know."

"It’s just so strange." Lanuo flipped through the genetic reports in his hand. "The genes indicate it’s a Mixed Breed, but the match percentage with other Mixed Breeds is very low. I also can’t find a corresponding sequence for it in the gene database."

Alex finished reading the file. "So what’s your assessment?"

"The chance of it being a Mimic Mixed Species is higher, but the data is too ambiguous to make a definitive classification," Lanuo said, sitting up straight. "Let me see the person this sample came from."

Alex replied, "Not right now."

Seeing how quickly Alex refused, Lanuo asked in confusion, "Whose sample is this, anyway? Are you on some kind of secret mission?"

"Something like that," Alex said.

Hearing this, Lanuo’s suspicion vanished. "In that case, just send the sample to me."

Alex said, "The Detection Devices in Zone 19 are the same as in Zone 5."

"The equipment might be the same, but I have more testing protocols," Lanuo said, his interest clearly piqued. "I think this Mimic Mixed Species might be some kind of new variant. If this is for your mission, I could get a head start."

"Will you be bringing it back to Zone 5 eventually?" Lanuo asked.

"I will."

"Then you have to let me study it. If it’s a new Mixed Breed variant, this could be a major discovery."

Alex flipped to the Mimic Mixed Species gene comparison chart in the file. The overlap was 8.5. For other Mixed Breeds, the genetic overlap was also above 8, with all the values being quite similar.

But overall, this degree of overlap was too low. Generally, a tested gene requires an overlap of 9 or higher to be confirmed as belonging to a Beastman or a Mixed Breed.

No wonder even Lanuo, who rarely had a spare moment these days, was so eager to see the person this sample belonged to.

Lanuo was a researcher; he let the data do the talking and wouldn’t jump to conclusions easily.

Lanuo couldn’t determine the identity of the person the sample came from, but Alex, who saw her every day, already had an answer in his heart.

Now, he just needed Lanuo to perform one more test, and perhaps all the data would become clear.

But that test required the highest level of authorization from the genetics department, as well as clearance from several other departments. Lanuo wouldn’t be able to conduct it privately like he did this time.

This was Zone 19; exposing her identity would be an extremely dangerous move.

Besides, he needed to be absolutely certain before he could consider the next step.

Alex asked Lanuo, "If a Mimic Mixed Species were to imitate you but couldn’t read or understand our language, would that be a problem with its abilities or a genetic issue?"

"That scenario is impossible," Lanuo said. "Being able to imitate me would mean it’s a high-level Mimic Mixed Species. It would have already figured out my personality and behavior. There’s no way it wouldn’t know basic literacy and language—I’m a top student from the research institute, you know."

"And even if this Mimic Mixed Species were truly illiterate, it could just kill me and directly absorb my genetic chain to become me."

This was the terrifying thing about the Mimic Mixed Species. Without special detection methods, high-level ones were nearly impossible to distinguish by sight alone.

Lanuo continued, "Besides, before they degenerate and mutate, Mimic Mixed Species receive the same education we do. In some ways, they’re even smarter than us."

"Remember when we were at the academy? I told you about that guy in my class who always took first place, right?"

Alex replied, "I remember. He mutated during his internship deployment."

"That’s the one," Lanuo said. "Good thing he was a Mimic Mixed Species, otherwise I’d have a serious complex about it."

He majored in genetics and minored in basic medicine. He was naturally gifted and also the type to be incredibly hardworking and self-disciplined. From elementary school through university, his grades were always stellar. While he might not have always been first in his entire year, he had rarely ever dropped to second place in his own class.

But upon entering his upper-level courses, a true academic prodigy appeared in his class. The guy always got perfect scores on theory exams, and his grades in other subjects were just as brilliant.

Lanuo found himself constantly suppressed by this guy, becoming a perennial runner-up. He could only occasionally reclaim the top spot.

When he later found out the guy was a Mimic Mixed Species, he had incredibly mixed feelings.

He was relieved that the person who bested him was ’just’ a Mimic Mixed Species, but he also felt it was a shame that someone so brilliant was a Mimic that ended up mutating.

To this day, that guy is still a sore spot for Lanuo.

"Mimic Mixed Species don’t just imitate appearances; they have photographic memories and a powerful learning ability. So I’ve never encountered a situation like you described, with one being illiterate and unable to understand language."

Lanuo tossed the report onto the table, leaned back, and closed his eyes to rest. "If one was illiterate and couldn’t understand our speech, it would mean they were imitating a very dumb Beastman or maybe a Beast cub, thus exhibiting similar behaviors. But that would just be part of the Mimic’s disguise."

Alex asked, "Then, outside of genetic testing, how would you verify if someone is a Mimic Mixed Species?"

Lanuo thought for a moment before answering. "It’s simple, yet difficult. Didn’t we go through training for identifying Mimic Mixed Species back in the academy? There’s one method that’s the simplest, but it’s also the one most likely to get you beaten up."

Thinking of that training, Lanuo let out a mischievous laugh.

The training was initiated by the Military Department, with the goal of honing students’ ability to identify Mixed Breeds.

They would place Beastmen of various ages and backgrounds together with a few Mimic Mixed Species, and we had to identify the Mimics within a set time limit.

He always managed to get high scores in the Mixed Breed detection training.

While the other students were using all sorts of methods to deduce and probe which ones were Mimics and which were normal Beastmen, he would just go straight for their pants.

Mimic Mixed Species are sexless. Before they degenerate, they still have pseudo-sexual characteristics, but after degeneration, those are completely gone.

This is the most obvious identifying feature on a Mimic Mixed Species. Because they lack emotion, they tend to neglect faking something they’re born without and which is normally hidden from view.

Even with a perfect disguise, you can see or feel the difference.

Since they don’t have emotions and don’t go into heat, that part of them is just for show.

In order to get high scores, Lanuo used this method almost every time, and he took plenty of beatings for it.

But looking at the beautiful scores on the results sheet, the beatings were worth it.

Alex fell silent for a moment as he recalled that training.

Lanuo said, "If you’re not sure whether someone is a Mimic Mixed Species, just yank their pants down. With your skills, you’re not afraid you’ll lose the fight, are you?"